TrevorR

I guess we’re not adding Utilities as T9 and Rent/Mortgage as T10… what a bunch of lily-livered lightweights! 😉🤣 PS as I understand, on the equivalent thread on Drumchat, Toiletries is classed as a T2, while new Cymbals is a T3.

Someone brought their posh camera to our jam night last night… Me playing my new Sandberg SL ^^^ and inadvisedly using one of those short necked things and singing Crazy Man Michael… ->

This evening was Folk Night at the weekly Monday Night Jam - one of the “theme nights” that we do every so often. The themes quite loose so it meant a fairly eclectic mix of actual folk (rock) tunes, acoustic rock, country and singer-songwriter stuff. All good, fun stuff though. A few old classics like American Pie and Father and Son and newer classics like Hurt. And some less expected songs like Christopher Cross’ Sailing. And a lovely completely a capella rendition of The Parting Glass. Such a beautiful song. I had suggested a couple of songs in the 70s folk rock vein - All Around My Hat by Steeleye Span (bass and BVs) and Fairport Convention’s Crazy Man Michael - which I foolishly decided to play on acoustic and sing 😱. I also ended up bassing on a couple of others - Homeward Bound and Fire And Rain (both fave tunes so that’s a big bonus) with one of the better singers who attend. As with these things, it’s a “mixed ability group” so some renditions were better than others. Over all the standard was good - and there were a few really excellent performances. For those who know how averages work I will leave you to work out that particular maths! 🤨 I must admit that I was a bit trepidatious about Crazy Man - but it went amazingly well. My guitar playing skills are strictly bedroom standard but I was joined by another guitarist and a bass player. A bit of a contrast from the last song I sang at the Jam Night - that was God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols! 🤣 So over all a good evening out.

Fun service last night, and auspicious in a number of ways… it was our new vicar, Lydia’s, first weekend at the church… I got to run out the brand new Sandberg California TT SuperLight and my wife was singing in the worship team (for the first time in about 15 years). The set list was fun - and heavily biased towards some great “oldies” (with a couple of twists)… At Start Jesus Hope of the Nations (G) There is a Redeemer (D) Response Song Our God Saves (C) Communion Man of Sorrows (C) I Stand in Awe (C) - Martin Layzell At End Lord I Lift Your Name on High (G). (In the style of The Joker by the Steve Miller band) Lord Reign in Me (A). (In the style of You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon) The last two were particularly fun to play and seemed to go down a storm - despite a small bass brain fade at the start of Lord I Lift Your Name On High… ooops, my bad. The Sandberg was great to play. These basses feel so good and at just over 6lbs, it was light as a feather - such a contrast to my 10 pounders! The sound was great - quality active/passive Jazz bass tones straight into the DI. Springy in all the right places but with a good dose of bass too. The 50/50 blend sounds great too, very smooth. The blackburst looks lovely too! I can tell I’m going to love playing this bass. My wife, Thea, has been talking about getting back into worship for a while but was quite worried about it, not having sung in public for a decade and a half (since our lad arrived). The worship pastor suggested that she come along and join in rehearsal and see how she felt - of course she’d not heard Thea sing before either so didn’t know whether her voice was good enough or if she’d be too nervous. At the end of the rehearsal she said, “That was lovely, you sounded great! You should just sing in the team this evening!” which was perfect as it gave Thea no time to get nervous or stress about it. All in all, a great service!!! Here’s the live stream…

Well, let’s put it this way, January last year I got a bit of inheritance money and decided to buy a Sandberg that I found in Denmark Street (which was 99% my ideal spec - colour variant, that’s all). That’s been getting all the playing love since then and I led me to decided to order the above Superlight at the end of August. My Wals have pretty much been sitting in their cases (unheard of) and the arrival of this one almost certainly means that my Mk 1 Custom Series will be going up on consignment in the near future (something I thought that I would never do). They’re fab basses!

Oooh, I’d not spotted that.

Well this is nice, I get to report a new bass acquisition without fear of Tier 1 infraction. This Sandberg California TT4 SuperLight arrived today and is LOVELY!!! Great active Jazz sound and only weights 2.8kg / 6.2lbs too. I ordered it back at the end of August so I understand that means it’s not in scope for this year’s challenge. Yay!!!

Well, it’s here… came home this lunch time and discovered that they’d delivered it early - fortunately they’d stashed it behind our bins - not taken it back to the depot. Phew. I have to say that I love it. It looks and sounds great and, of course, the feel of the neck is wonderful. It’s the all-paulownia version but none the worse for that. The sound is in just the Jazz territory that I like with bounce and spring in all the right frequency ranges. Lovely. I’ll be using it at church tomorrow evening and then again at the Weekly Monday Jam on Monday so I will report back on the sound… but I do not expect to be disappointed. Oh yeah… and the number you all want to know… 2.8kg / 6.2lbs which is daft but it still feels great on a suede backed leather strap. No neck dive discernible at all. Love it so far!

Well, that shows how often I’ve walked past in the last decade. To be fair, I’d have been more likely to pop into Hobgoblin. Sad that they couldn’t stay afloat online either.

Ivor Mairants has never been a bass focused shop but is one of the old grandees of the Soho music shop scene. Just had an email from their mailing list saying that they are closing down after trading for over 60 years. Not part of Denmark Street but tucked up a side street off Oxford Street nearby, it was one I always popped into for a look any time I was in the area and having an idle browse. Retail is a tough old biz these days and so I’m not surprised that a small, independent shop like that can’t keep going. That’s 21st C commerce. Still a shame when I look back at what the area was like back in the 80s when I first started visiting.

🤣🤣🤣

Speaking of Superlight TTs… this popped into the inbox today… Super chuffed as it was listed originally for delivery by the end of April, so gaining a few months on it is great news. As a new build, ordered last September, I’m a little intrigued to see whether it will have the solid paulownia body or the newer maple core with paulownia wings design that they announced over the summer. Not worried either way but it adds an additional little element of surprise into the anticipation. Can’t wait to give it a run out a church on Sunday evening and at the weekly jam on Monday. Watch this space…

Enjoy it!!! I so very nearly pulled the trigger on that one - or it’s close clone - last year but decided not to as it duplicates the pickups on the VM I got last year. I was really looking for a TT SL for that Jazz look and feel. That said, the VM is a great pickup combination - both sound great individually and the blend sounds are lovely too. Do give us your in depth review when you’ve had a chance to properly put it through its paces…

That’s fabulous news, Rich. You’re going to love playing it!! I still love my Pro 2E a quarter of a century after getting my hands on it. Going to sound great at the ska gig. Paul is such a star, he did a similar job on mine back around 2010ish, including changing the pops for ones with integrated shafts and it really gave it a new lease of life. Enjoy!!

Ah, go on push the boat out… something subtle and understated like a Bootsy Star Bass for the rocky numbers and an Ibanez Iceman for the ballads. G’wan, you know you want to! 🤣🤣🤣🤩

Brilliant!! Hope that it all goes well. The vids of the previous Sundays for Sammy have been amazing. Such a great thing to to and such great cause. All the best for the night. Any special guests you’re in a position to divulge yet or is that all under wraps until the event?

They’ve just had to buy a whole new desk because the old one started doing phantom gain and level changes at random on several channels. So getting some ADDITIONAL cash out of the finance committee right now might er… erm… hopeful! In fact, I’ll bet that the additional functionality of a new desk vs one that’s 10-15 years old may be partly behind the experiment!

I think that I’ve committed a Tier 2 infringement, I’m afraid, but I do have extenuating circumstances. The sound guys at church want us to try using in-ears (which I already have) but I’ll need a small IEM amp. So I got a little Behringer in-line belt pack for 23 quid off Amazon. I can only apologise for being naughty, but a big boy made me do it and ran away (to behind the sound desk). 😫

Fun time at the Surrey Country Roots Jam last night. Bass players were thin on the ground with a couple of last minute drop outs, so I ended up playing a few tomes. I was down to play four tunes - one of which I’d suggested and three more I was asked to play or had previously volunteered for. Then I got roped in to play with a guy I kinda know from another jam - he’s “a character”and so I played an impromptu, in the wrong key version of Springsteen’s The River and then Country Roads (both hanging on by the seat of my pants). Best thing was, when I first sat down I saw another bass player off to my left who seemed vaguely familiar. However, with that whole “seeing someone you know but in the wrong context” thing, I just couldn’t place him… a which point, he waved and said “Hi”. Of course, it was @Happy Jack who had come along to check the jam out and see what the standard was and the split between proper old school country, country-pop and the seriously betasseled brigade. So good to see him and sit and chat. He ended getting up for one Hank Williams number playing his lovely old Ovation bass.

Fun slightly retro worship set last night. The songs were a variety of blasts from the past, all of which I was familiar with. Was surprised how many of the team hadn’t heard the Hillsong ones which I would have thought of as “worship standards”! At Start: This I Believe (the Creed) (F) So Will I (D) Response song: Speak oh Lord (B) Communion: God I Look to You (D) This Kingdom - Hillsong (C) At End: Mighty to Save (G) Never Gonna Stop Singing (F) However, our WL/pianist who chose them was ill over the weekend so we had to draft in one of our other keys players and one of the other singers had to lead the songs - many of which she hadn’t sung before. That said, it all worked out well and sounded good (apart from me having a bit of a brain fade on the first tune and the piano player not quite playing all the tunes as written). Proud of the team as they adapted well. We have a cracking drummer so Never Gonna Stop was a lot of fun to play!!!

I’d go for Incognito’s Tribes, Vibes and Scribes. Step forward Mr Randy Hope-Taylor.

I like my blue UE11s… it’s a case of do you want to go discreet —> clear or choose a colour you like. I’m blue for my in-ears and clear for my general ear plugs (as they might get used in civilian life as well as playing).

68 Guns - The Alarm

Lovely Sunday Evening service this week. It was Epiphany so officially the last on e of the Christmas season. That meant we were huddled together in one corner as the altar area and stage was still set up for Christmas nativities and the like. Not ideal for foldback sound purposes or band sightlines but it worked out OK in th end. It was a nice meditative service with a lovely song list including some old favourites, a blast from the past and a couple of songs I’d never heard before. Unfortunately with Christmas and New Year we didn’t have the final list and keys until Thursday but “needs must” and all that. Thankfully, most of the songs were pretty straightforward. The setlist was: Great In Power Noel Here I Am To Worship Manger Throne This I Believe, and The Blessing. I’d not come across “Manger Throne” before but what a powerful song - Phil Wickham in uncharacteristically mellow and philosophical mood. I guess I always think of him as a bit of a praise rocker, or maybe that’s just the tunes of his that I’ve played. The band was small but perfectly formed… keys, (shy) acoustic guitarist (who doesn’t really seem to want to be heard), saxophone, bass and drums (not played with that drummer before), and two female vocalists. It’s pretty much one of the two regular groups I play with at church so it was all nice and familiar. It was a nice opportunity to give the Sandberg a rest for a week and remind my (more festively coloured) Wal Pro bass that Daddy still loves it. 🤣 it does have a lovely round and plummy tone which you ca roughen up at the flick of a switch if needed - but that wasn’t really the tone of this week’s service. Listened through on the stream and it sounded OK. Next time up is end of the month. https://www.youtube.com/live/1vZbSY2Z_2I?si=LrTLSrBfpkxDrOyz

Ah, but the CC payment hasn’t gone out though (to my surprise and no deposit either) so I’ll deffo be paying for it this year!! 🤣 Not sure what sort of abstinence limbo that leaves me in… 🤨🤔🤣 …but (Sandberg excepted) I’m in!